What type of gross things do registered nurses have to do?
- page 3

I'm going to get straight to the point.
Is it true that nurses have to change "poopy" diapers/patients and or deal with dead bodies?
I would love to get into nursing, but those are my deal... Read More

Unfortunately, yes. It's a given. CNA's call out, or need help, or sometimes there is just no one else there to do it. Some nights I wipe more butts than others, and some nights I don't wipe any butts at all....but one never knows. And then you have colostomy patients....to be honest, the only thing that REALLY grosses me out these days is trach care, suctioning, anything respiratory.

I'm the same way. I can deal with c. diff poo, vomit, colostomy drainage.....but when it comes to peoples respiratory secretions....YUCKA!!! Don't know what it is...but yucka!!!!

May 19, '13

Luckily, my mum is an rn and I am fully aware of the not so pleasant things a nurse must encounter. Does it bother me? Not at all. Not much bothers me except bad eye infections ( I am a nut and have a difficult time putting eyedrops in my own eyes:/) so I'll get over it eventually. The only thing to ever bother my mother was having to pull a tapeworm from someone's rectum. Haha! Some people have the stomach for these sort of things and others do not. Of course there will be a few things that bother us all, that is human nature but nurses know that. You gotta get over it. If you thinking changing diapers and cleaning up feces is disgusting and a deal breaker I'd consider another career.

May 19, '13

Yes you will have to care for dead bodies. That includes cleaning them up and making them presentable for family

Yes you will have to deal with vomit. This includes spitting in your face as well form combative patients.

Yes you will have to deal with poop. This includes patients with infectious diarrhea such as Clostridium Deficil.

Yes you will have to deal with blood. This includes patients pulling out their IV lines or women hemorrhaging from their vagina after giving birth.

Yes you will have to deal with every possible bodily fluid known to science. This includes getting some bodily fluid on you, accidents happen.

Yes you will go home some days and wished you had a shower out doors. This is because of how disgusting you feel after bodily fluids form an infectious combative patient can randomly get on you.

Need I say more?

May 19, '13

There is an easy way out... do not become an RN.

I recommend getting your bachelor's degree in science like kinesiology/ microbiology/ etc. Then apply for PA school. Then spend your working years doing "Gentlemen's" work in an office. It means you show up in business casual attire, sit down with patients, listen to their problems, write a prescription, write consults, referrals, etc. If there is an emergency just call 911.

No dead bodies, no poop wiping, no vomit.

These words are from my best friend who started out as an RN and transitioned over to PA. He did it for the more relaxed pace and better on your back.

May 19, '13

I don't understand what the big deal with poop is. Everybody poops. There's even a book for preschool aged children about it. If you've ever babysat or if you plan on having children in the future, you'd change those diapers, right? So why is it such a deal breaker with nursing? Dealing with poop is a very small part of what we do.

I recommend getting your bachelor's degree in science like kinesiology/ microbiology/ etc. Then apply for PA school. Then spend your working years doing "Gentlemen's" work in an office. It means you show up in business casual attire, sit down with patients, listen to their problems, write a prescription, write consults, referrals, etc. If there is an emergency just call 911.

No dead bodies, no poop wiping, no vomit.

These words are from my best friend who started out as an RN and transitioned over to PA. He did it for the more relaxed pace and better on your back.

That's all well and good when you're DONE with PA school and want to go into GP. However, you'll have to deal with cadaver lab in PA school. And you'll have intensive clinicals in the ER. There's no way around the vomit, blood & death.

May 19, '13

Yes but if you would of told me that nursing involved that I'd of looked the other way. With that being said now that I'm doing it as a CNA I don't even think about it. When it's in context of a real person that is ill and helpless it changes everything. At least it does for me.

That's all well and good when you're DONE with PA school and want to go into GP. However, you'll have to deal with cadaver lab in PA school. And you'll have intensive clinicals in the ER. There's no way around the vomit, blood & death.

PA school will fly by like sand through an hour glass.

We have all seen those RN students just getting by with minimal "gross-stuff" exposure. They passed boards and are working RNs. Some get into a very relaxed position like case management, admin, education etc. It isn't uncommon for someone to find a "clean" job.

Depending on what type of nursing, and what type of unit you work on, that will happen a lot... Or a little.

Someone once wrote that wiping patient butts as as much to do with the practice of nursing, as changing diapers has to do with being a parent.

Overall, It's part of it, not most of it.

Med Surge setting in a hospital located deep in the hood. Trust me, there is a lot of butt wiping in my world.

The best part about nursing are the little niches. Theres a position to fill everyones needs. You just have to find it,

May 20, '13

Really....you get over it. It's amazing that one day the smell won't bother you and you'll be able to finish doing something with bodily fluids, wash your hands, and eat your lunch!

Last night I had to help put an NG tube (tube that goes into someone's nose down to their belly) because they were vomiting poop. Yes that really happens. Tonight she feels so much better. It's totally worth it with patients like that!

Get a job as a CNA or PCA and try it out. That's what I did. 3 months tops, I swore. That was 12 years ago. I've been a nurse for 8 years now. You never know.